Despite exhibiting in Paris for well over 20 straight years and having one of the best flagships in Tokyo retail (a stone’s throw from Rick Owens and The Soloist), I can’t help but think that Rynshu is a slightly underappreciated brand. It might just come down to the virtual impossibility of buying the clothes outside of the aforementioned flagship, and the fact that they are very rarely sold online and almost never turn up discounted, add to that a very quiet media presence even when Rynshu has Will.i.am modeling for them and they are something of an enigma. The clothes themselves are too often difficult to define and seem to follow their own path rather than the vibe of the moment – it has found its own rather glam, shiny and decadent groove with couture quality fabrics and seems to be very happy to stay there. For me, this will always be the look of the Tokyo playboys, the kind of people you spot in the best bars in town but never on the street, and I understand that there is also a feverish Russian following for the brand as well.
Rynshu’s concept this season is themed around a film the designer is currently working on called 9 3/4 and he even invited the actress Rio who stars in the film to take to the catwalk in a show which climaxed in couples walking the catwalk together having been separated and out of sync throughout the rest of the show (a direct reference to the plot of the film).
But if those flowers have got you worried then I have good news for you, the dark glamour that we have come to expect from Rynshu is present and correct, and in particular Rynshu was keen to focus on dark fabrics that catch the light as they move. To that end there are an awful lot of artificial oily fabrics that seemed very light in movement and seem perfectly tailored for the extraverts of Tokyo.
The key silhouette for the men seemed to focus on this extremely exaggerated jodhpur trousers, and given Rynshu’s considerable influence on street level fashion, I wonder if we will see more of this shape from other brands in due course.
Light and shiny polyamide fabrics were in abundance across a number of looks with many being specifically developed for Rynshu.
The women’s tailored jackets featured a ring of fabric cut out at the shoulder that completely changed his already unconventional tailoring. Elsewhere this was also echoed in the cut-outs of the shorts with metallic detailing behind.
Zips and heavily perforated leather make these cropped trousers a perfect fit for the steamy Tokyo summer.
Ever the showman, Rynshu couldn’t resist a couple of spectacularly over the top leather items.
Rynshu and Rio pairing off at the end of the show.
I would direct you to Rynshu’s website but at the time of writing it was down, so maybe it is getting a little update, but if you do want to see more then the Aoyama flagship is where you will want to go.
